Valve and liquid flow system



- Oct. 7, 1969 p. D. PRIZLE R VALVE AND LIQUID FLOW SYSTEM Filed Feb. 7. 1966 Y INVENTOR PAUL D. Pk/ZLER United States Patent 3,471,021 VALVE AND LIQUID FLOW SYSTEM Paul D. Prizler, Temple City, Calif., assignor to Swimquip, Inc., El Monte, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Feb. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 525,578 Int. Cl. E04h 3/20, 3/16 US. "Cl. 210-169 2 Claims This invention relates to valve means and more particularly to such valve means adapted for use with equipment for swimming and bathing pools.

Equipment commonly used for cleaning swimming pools comprises a pump for circulating the water from the pool through a filter and back into the pool. During this filtering process dirt is removed from the pool water and deposited on the elements of the filter, which accordingly becomes more or less clogged with dirt. In consequence it is common to backwash the filter to remove the dirt which has accumulated in the filter and pump this dirty water away as waste. The transition from a condition of circulating the pool water through the filter to one in which the normal circulation is discontinued and replaced by a backwashing operation has involved the use of valves. Such valves have entailed the use of hand operations, which can be time consuming and tedious.

According to the present invention there is provided a valve arranged so that a simple movement of the valve handle immediately converts the system from one of circulation of pool liquid through the filter to one of backwash, and vice versa.

The invention is carried out by provision of a plurality of ports at different positions through the wall of a valve housing within which are a plurality of valve members making contact with the housing wall. The valve elements are operable in unison and are so shaped as to make contact around their circumferences with the internal wall of the housing to prevent leakage of fluid past the respective valve members. When the valve member is in one position communication is permitted through the housing to two pairs of the valve ports, and when the valve is in a second position there is communication between two ditferent pairs of valve ports through the housing. This arrangement permits the condition of circulation of pool water through the filter in one valve position and the alternative condition of backwash of the filter by the pool water in another valve position.

According to a preferred feature of the invention, the valve housing is in the form of a cylinder and the valve elements are eccentrically positioned relative to the cylinder.

According to another feature the valve elements have the form of elipses so that they will maintain their contact with the cylindrical housing.

According to another feature, one of each of said pairs of valve ports is located at a different angular position around the housing from the other of the pair.

The foregoing and other features of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing of which:

FIG. 1 shows a pool cleaning and circulating system containing a valve, partially in cross section, according to this invention, with the valve in position for circulating pool liquid through a filter;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a valve element mounted on a stern, used in the valve of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the valve element of FIG. 2 shown on its stem;

FIG. 4 is a face view of a resilient gasket used with the valve element of FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view of the gasket of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 shows the system of FIG. 1 with the valve par- 3,471,021 Patented Oct. 7, 1969 ice tially in cross-section, and adjusted to the position of backwashing of the filter.

Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a portion of a swimming pool 10 represented schematically and not necessarily according to the usual shape of such a pool. According to common practice such a pool is ordinarily located in the ground with the top of the pool somewhat above ground level. The pool will be provided with outlets for withdrawal of the pool liquid, ordinarily water, of which one of these outlets 11 is shown in the figure. The outlet 11 may be considered to be the main drain which is commonly located at the deepest region of the pool. According to common practice, a pipe or conduit 12 connects the drain 11 with the inlet of a pump P driven by a motor M so that the water being pumped is sent through an outlet conduit 13 from the pump coupled by a suitable coupling 14 to an inlet 15 of a valve 16 in accordance with the present invention.

The valve 16 comprises a cylindrical housing Wall 17 which may conveniently be made of a plastic material, preferably a transparent plastic so that the position of the valve mechanism within the housing is readily apparent. The valve is provided with an outlet port 18 from the housing wall 17 offset longitudingly from the inlet port 15; this outlet port 18 being coupled to a conduit 19 which leads to the inlet of a filter F. The details of the filter F are not illustrated as the particular details are not part of the present invention. The filter, however, may conveniently be of the diatomatious earth type in which disc-like porous septe-ms are placed within a cylindrical tank with diatomatious earth covering the septums as shown for example in the United States Letters Patents 3,187,898 or 3,187,899. In such a system, the water entering the filter from pipe 19 passes through the porous septums to a central position of the filter, leaving the dirt from the water on the diatornatious earth so that clean water passing out through the central outlet of the filter will be carried through a pipe 20, through valve port 36 and chamber 34, out valve port 37 and then on back to an inlet 21 of the pool through a conduit 22. The direction of water flow in this circulatory system is as shown by the arrows.

There is concentrically located within the cylindrical valve housing 17 a stem or shaft 23 which extends through one end 24 of the housing through a suitable bearing means 25 provided with packing such as an O- ring to prevent leakage from the housing.

A handle 26 is attached to the shaft 23 at a position outside the housing, as shown. There are attached to this shaft within the housing a pair of valve members 27 and 28 fixed to the shaft and spaced apart from each other to form chambers within the housing.

Each of these valve members comprises a rigid disk-like member 29 of an elliptical shape as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, preferably made by molding, and provided with a circumferential groove 33 to accept a resilient gasket 30 shaped as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The disks 29 of the respective valve members 27 and 28 are molded to the stem 23 in spaced arrangement to provide valve chambers when installed in the valve body 16. Each of the rigid elliptical elements 27 is provided with a pair of bosses 31 protruding from opposite sides thereof through the opening 32 of which the stem extends. The opposite faces of element 29 are eccentric with respect to the stem 23, so that each member 29 is arranged oblique relative to the stem and to the valve cylinder 17. Preferably the faces 29 of the two valve members are substantially parallel to each other, as shown. The elliptical circumferential surface of the member 29 is in substantial or near contact all around its circumference with the inner wall of the cylinder.

A resilient gasket 30 in the form of an O-ring, FIGS. 4 and 5, is fitted into the groove 33, and makes contact around its circumference with the inner Wall of the cylinder, to act as a seal.

In the position of the valve handle 26 shown in FIG. 1, the two valve members 27 and 28 are oriented to form in the valve cylinder two chambers 34 and 35 respectively through which pool water can flow. The valve member 27 forming one wall of chamber 34 provides that ports 36 and 37 are in communication with the same chamber 34. Likewise, the position of valve member 28 provides that valve ports 15 and 18 are in communication with the same chamber 35.

This valve position provides another chamber 38 between valve member 28 and the opposite end of the valve cylinder from the handle 26, this chamber 38 having an outlet in the form of a port 39 to which is attached a pipe 40 leading to a receptacle or region or conduit W which may be a tank or dry well or a sewer pipe according to the particular circumstances. In the position of the valve shown in FIG. 1, the chamber 38 and the Waste chamber W are performing no function as there is no flow in this part of the system.

FIG. 6 shows the valve position and the system when the valve handle 26 is turned from the position shown in FIG. 1 to its second position shown in FIG. 6. This involves a 180 turn of the shaft 23 for the structure illustrated, so that the portion of the valves which appear at the right side of the valve cylinder in FIG. 1, appear at the left side of the valve cylinder in FIG. 6. Suitable stops may be provided to establish the two limiting positions of the shaft, one for the position of FIG. 1 and the other for the position of FIG. 6.

The dimensions of the valve members and the cylinder ports are such that under the condition of FIG. 6, the chambers 34 and 35 have been modified so that the valve port 36 is no longer in communication with chamber 34, but instead is in communication with chamber 35 along with valve port 15. Furthermore, the valve port 18 instead of being included in chamber 35 as in FIG. 1, is now included in chamber 38 along with the port 39. Under this condition, the pool water pumped into the valve through inlet port 15 is now pumped out of port 39 in the reverse direction from that of FIG. 1, so that the water is sent back through the filter in the opposite direction from the normal filtering flow. This is the backwash operation which will have the effect of removing dirt from the filter elements and sending the dirty water back through conduit 19 and into the valve chamber 38 through port 18 so that it is emptied from chamber 38 through port 39 to the waste chamber W.

For ease of understanding the specification and claims, the following designations are herein given to the various ones of the valve elements, chambers and ports:

Port 37 is referred to as a first port, port 36 as a second port, port 15 as a third port, port 18 as a fourth port, and port 39 as a fifth port. Valve member 27 is referred to as a first valve element, and valve member 28 is referred to as a second valve element. Chamber 34 is referred to as a first chamber, chamber 35 as a second chamber, and chamber 38 as a third chamber, all of these chambers being within the valve housing. The valve stem position shown in FIG. 1 is referred to as a first stem position, and the valve stem position shown in FIG. 6 is referred to as a second stem position.

It will be recognized that by the present invention, there is provided a simple and efficient valve structure capable of changing or reversing flow of liquid in a system by a simple movement of a handle or stem. Furthermore, leakage of liquid out of the valve structure is minimized since the only seal sealing 0115 the interior from the exterior of the valve housing is that around the stem Where the stem is brought to the exterior. The circumferences of the valve elements themselves act as bearings for the mechanism, and the arrangement of the resilient gaskets between their respective grooves facilitates good seating of the gaskets around the interior housing wall to prevent leakage of fiuid around the gaskets.

Although there is described herein a valve having two valve members, it is to be understood that more than two spaced valve members may be employed in spaced relation and fixed to shaft 23 to seal against wall 17 to thereby modify the position of the valve chambers relative to the ports, and further that more valve chambers and ports may be utilized for various fluid flows through the housing for a particular system.

What is claimed is:

1. A valve for selectively sending fiuid from a fluid source through a device in either of two opposite directions, said valve comprising a valve housing; a rotatable stem having an axis of rotation and extending within the housing, said stem having first and second angular positions; first, second, third, fourth and fifth ports communicating with the interior of the housing; first and second valve elements attached to the stem within the housing and making circumferential contact with the interior wall of the housing, said first valve element defining within the housing a first chamber whose position relative to said ports varies with change of position of said first valve element, said first valve element being oblique relative to the axis of the stem and positioned to include the first and second ports in communication with said first chamber while excluding said third, fourth and fifth ports from said communication with said first chamber in the first angular position of the stem and to include the first port while excluding said second, third, fourth and fifth ports from communication with said first chamber in the second angular position of the stem, said second valve element being spaced at a distance from the first valve element and being oblique to the axis of the stem, said sec- 0nd valve element making circumferential contact with the interior wall of the housing and defining Within the housing a second chamber between said first and second valve elements, said first and second valve elements being positioned to include said third and fourth ports in communication with second chamber while excluding said first, second and fifth ports from communication with said second chamber in said first angular and to include the second and third ports while excluding the first, fourth and fifth ports from communication with said second chamber when in said second angular position, said second valve element further defining a third chamber within said housing at the opposite side of said second valve element from said second chamber, said second valve element including said fourth and fifth ports in communication with said third chamber while excluding said first, second and third ports from communication with said third chamber when in said second angular position, and including the fifth port while excluding the first, second, third and fourth ports from communication with said third chamber when in said first angular position, whereby when said valve stem is in its first angular position, liquid in said source flows sequentially through said third port and into said second chamber and through said fourth port and through said device in a first direc tion and through said second port and into said first chamber and through said first port and back into said source, and when said valve stem is in its second angular position liquid in said source flows sequentially through said third port and into said second chamber and through said second port and through said device in a second direction opposite from the first direction and through the fourth port into said third chamber and through said fifth port to drain.

2. A liquid transmission system comprising a container of liquid having an inlet and an outlet; a liquid filter; and a valve, said valve having a valve housing, a rotatable stern having an axis of rotation and extending within the housing, said stem having first and second angular positions, first, second, third, fourth and fifth ports communicating with the interior of the housing, first and second valve elements attached to the stem within the housing and making circumferential contact with the interior wall of the housing, said first valve element defining Within the housing a first chamber Whose position relative to said ports varies with change of position of said first valve element, said first valve element being oblique relative to the axis of the stem and positioned to include the first and second ports in communication with said first chamber while excluding said third, fourth, and fifth ports from said communication with said first chamber in the first angular position of the stem and to include the first port while excluding said second, third, fourth and fifth ports from communication with said first chamber in the second angular position of the stern, said second valve element being spaced at a distance from the first valve element and being oblique to the axis of the stem, said second valve element making circumferential contact with the interior wall of the housing and defining within the housing a second chamber between said first and second valve elements, said first and second valve elements being positioned to include said third and fourth ports in communication with second chamber while excluding said first, second and fifth ports from communication with said second chamber in said first angular position and to include the second and third ports while excluding the first, fourth and fifth ports from communication with said second chamber when in said second angular position, said second valve element further defining a third chambe: within said housing at the opposite sides of said second valve element from said second chamber, said second valve element including said fourth and fifth ports in communication with said third chamber while excluding said first, second and third ports from communication with said third chamber when in said second angular position, and including the fifth port while excluding the first, second, third and fourth ports from communication with said third chamber when in said first angular position, means connecting said inlet of said liquid container to said first port, means connecting said outlet of said liquid container to said third port, means connecting said filter between said second and fourth ports and means connecting said fifth port to drain; and pump means for transmitting liquid through the system whereby when said valve stem is in its first angular position, liquid in said container flows sequentially through said third port and into said second chamber and through said fourth port and through said filter in a first direction and through said second port and into said first chamber and through said first port and back into said container, and when said valve stem is in its second angular position liquid in said container flows sequentially through said third port and into said second chamber and through said second port and through said filter in a second direction opposite from the first direction and through the fourth port into said third chamber and through said fifth port to drain.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,695,036 11/1954 Kronheim 137-625.21 X 3,146,795 9/1964 Retallick l37625.23 X 3,090,396 5/ 1963 Rudelick 2513-67 X 3,058,816 10/1962 Rudelick 23-27T2.6 X

HENRY T. KLINKSIEK, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 137-62546 pomo UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,471,021 Dated October 7, 1969.

Inventor) Paul D. Prizler It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

lt is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 5, line 30 "sides" should be --side-.

SIGNED AND SEALED FEB 241970 (SEAL) .Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, 1

mum E. suflurm. .m. Atleshng Officer flomiasionar of Patents 

1. A VALVE FOR SELECTIVELY SENDING FLUID FROM A FLUID SOURCE THROUGH A DEVICE IN EITHER OF TWO OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, SAID VALVE COMPRISING A VALVE COMPRISING A VALVE HOUSING; A ROTATABLE STEM HAVING AN AXIS OF ROTATION AND EXTENDING WITHIN THE HOUSING, SAID STEM HAVING FIRST AND SECOND ANGULAR POSITIONS; FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH AND FIFTH PORTS COMMUNICATING WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE HOUSING; FIRST AND SECOND VALVE ELEMENTS ATTACHED TO THE STEM WITHIN THE HOUSING AND MAKING CIRCUMFERENTIAL CONTACT WITH THE INTERIOR WALL OF THE HOUSING, SAID FIRST VALVE ELEMENT DEFINING WITHIN THE HOUSING A FIRST CHAMBER WHOSE POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID PORTS VARIES WITH CHANGE OF POSITION OF SAID FIRST VALVE ELEMENT, SAID FIRST VALVE ELEMENT BEING OBLIQUE RELATIVE TO THE AXIS OF THE STEM AND POSITIONED TO INCLUDE THE FIRST AND SECOND PORTS IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID FIRST CHAMBER WHILE EXCLUDING SAID THIRD, FOURTH AND FIFTH PORTS FROM SAID COMMUNICATION WITH SAID FIRST CHAMBER IN THE FIRST ANGULAR POSITION OF THE STEM AND TO INCLUDE THE FIRST PORT WHILE EXCLUDING SAID SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH AND FIFTH PORTS FROM COMMUNICATION WITH SAID FIRST CHAMBER IN THE SECOND ANGULAR POSITION OF THE STEM, SAID SECOND VALVE ELEMENT BEING SPACED AT A DISTANCE FROM THE FIRST VALVE ELEMENT AND BEING OBLIQUE TO THE AXIS OF THE STEM, SAID SECOND VALVE ELEMENT MAKING CIRCUMFERENTIAL CONTACT WITH THE INTERIOR WALL OF THE HOUSING AND DEFINING WITHIN THE HOUSING A SECOND CHAMBER BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND VALVE ELEMENTS, SAID FIRST AND SECOND VALVE ELEMENTS BEING POSITIONED TO INCLUDE SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PORTS IN COMMUNICATION WITH SECOND CHAMBER WHILE EXCLUDING SAID FIRST, SECOND AND FIFTH PORTS FROM COMMUNICATION WITH SAID SECOND CHAMBER IN SAID FIRST ANGULAR AND TO INCLUDE THE SECOND AND THIRD PORTS WHILE EXCLUDING THE FIRST, FOURTH 